


Animal Lover

by Mohnblume



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29525739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mohnblume/pseuds/Mohnblume
Summary: When Andy was hired by Miranda Priestly, some bigshot fashion icon she hadn’t even heard of, she didn’t exactly know what to expect. People in fashion tended to be judgemental and snobby, in her very uninformed opinion. An opinion that had turned out to be mostly true, looking back years later.And after Andy researching Runway and Miranda that night after her interview, her views on the fashion industry had only solidified. There were dozens of articles that called Miranda The Devil in Prada, an ice queen, and even a fire breathing dragon. There weren’t many positive things about her, other than her extreme success and superior fashion sense, neither of which really interested Andy in any way.However, her one redeeming quality was her advocacy of animal rights: Miranda Priestly was a firm animal lover.
Relationships: Miranda Priestly & Andrea Sachs, Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Comments: 9
Kudos: 116





	Animal Lover

**Author's Note:**

> A little plot bunny that came to me too late at night.

When Andy was hired by Miranda Priestly, some bigshot fashion icon she hadn’t even heard of, she didn’t exactly know what to expect. People in fashion tended to be judgemental and snobby, in her very uninformed opinion. An opinion that had turned out to be mostly true, looking back years later. 

And after Andy researching Runway and Miranda that night after her interview, her views on the fashion industry had only solidified. There were dozens of articles that called Miranda The Devil in Prada, an ice queen, and even a fire breathing dragon. There weren’t many positive things about her, other than her extreme success and superior fashion sense, neither of which really interested Andy in any way. 

However, her one redeeming quality was her advocacy of animal rights. Miranda Priestly was a firm animal lover, it seemed, and she never endorsed companies who used animal testing. She had also been quoted many times, in various different articles, saying that she did not support the use of animal products in clothes. She stated that she had never and will never wear an animal carcass on her person. 

Andy, being a lover of all creatures big and small, found it reassuring that a woman who was portrayed as being heartless clearly had enough heart to spare the beings who had no voice for themselves. She also admired the other woman’s bravery, speaking against top designers. It gave her hope. Maybe things weren’t so bad. Maybe the tabloids were exaggerating, as they were wont to do. 

…

The tabloids were very much not exaggerating. Andy learns this within her first day. Miranda is ruthless, cold, and demands perfection from even the lowest of her staff. 

It’s exhausting, and not even close to the career she had dreamed of having. 

Miranda’s soft spot for animals is often the only thing that prevents Andy from cursing her name and looking up rituals to rid the world of an evil demon. She wouldn’t want to leave Patricia, Miranda’s prized pet, without a mother after all. And the twins, even though they seem to be exactly what one would expect of the devil’s spawn. 

It gets her through the days of being berated and belittled. As each scathing word comes flying out of Miranda’s mouth, she reminds herself that this is also a woman who loves animals. There must be a gentleness somewhere behind the barbed wires of her heart. 

It works. Nobody else quite understands the slack that Andy gives the older woman. Not her boyfriend Nate, or her best friend Lily. Not even her parents can understand why such a simple label of ‘animal lover’ can make Andy excuse what seems like truly horrible behavior. 

But it does. 

Until it doesn’t. 

Until Miranda shows up, on a Friday concluding a truly horrendous week, in a stark white _fur_ coat.

It’s stunning, really. It looks like it costs more than some cars, but it’s thick and beautiful. The white nearly sparkles in the fluorescent lights, and it’s clearly been made for Miranda. It fits her like a glove. 

In fact, Andy’s struck by awe for a few moments after Miranda storms by, the slamming of her office door snaps her out of it. Miranda’s beauty nearly makes her forget about her rage and heartbreak over the one redeeming quality her hard driven boss had.

Now she knows it’s a farce. The animal-loving woman that Andy has built up in her mind comes crashing down. At first, she does resist. It could be faux fur after all. But when she really analyses it, the coat is just too luxurious to be fake. It must be real. And then the doubts come in. What if Miranda only advocates animal rights to look good? What if it’s all some PR for the company, or for Miranda’s image?

Her anger makes her impulsive, and she boldly makes some snide comments about wearing a dead carcass, to which Miranda dryly informs her that no animal was harmed in the making of her coat. Andy scoffs. As if. 

...

She stews in her own thoughts for most of the day. She barely notices that Miranda spends all of it in her office, never asking anything of her assistants. She also fails to note that the editor does not take her coat off all day, despite the warm weather. 

At the end of the day, when Andy is the only one left waiting for The Book, she’s already half finished her letter of resignation. Her whole view of her boss has collapsed, and she doesn’t think she can keep working for a woman who clearly has no morals, and no heart. This job she hates has cost her her boyfriend and nearly all of her friends and family. She won’t continue making sacrifices for a woman who doesn’t care about anyone or anything, in an industry she isn’t interested in. 

By the time she reaches Miranda’s townhouse, she’s finished her letter, and added a speech to her resignation. She’s about to place The Book and her letter on Miranda’s desk, when she hears a voice. 

Nearly marching out to give the woman a piece of her mind, she walks through unfamiliar corridors to get to a big room. It isn’t heavily furnished, likely a living room of sorts. 

She stops in the doorway, curious after finding Miranda talking to Patricia. It’s a surprise, as Miranda doesn’t seem like the type to speak to animals, not anymore. But she is. And she’s still wearing the damn coat.

“It’s been a rough few days, Patricia. I think we deserve a few minutes to play, don’t you?” Miranda is saying. Her voice isn’t high and loud, like most people do when they talk to animals and babies. It’s steady, almost as if she’s talking to a friend. 

It angers Andy more, and she opens her mouth to give Miranda a piece of her mind, when the older woman clutches the offending item closer to her. It happens in seconds, and before Andy can even think, a giant white wolf stands exactly where Miranda had. 

All words have left Andy’s mind. She watches, jaw slack, as the wolf yips and skirts around the expensive carpet. Patricia immediately joins the game, and they tussle on the ground. The larger wolf clearly familiar with its larger size, and careful not to injure the smaller dog. They play like they’ve done this before, like the giant wolf isn’t a stranger, but part of the household. 

Which is, if Andy were able to think rationally, probably true. The wolf is clearly Miranda, somehow, defying everything she’s ever known about physics and the world. But she isn’t thinking clearly, so all that comes out of her mouth is a strangled, “What?”

In another succession of life-changing seconds, the white wolf freezes and turns into a human Miranda, with Patricia still playfully licking her neck. Piercing blue eyes stare at her in shock and fear, and it’s the strangest situation Andy has ever been in her entire life. 

The two stare at each other for what seems like hours before Miranda gently pushes her dog away, and climbs to her feet.

Clearing her throat, Miranda silently gestures to her study, and Andy wordlessly follows. Patricia seems to sense the tension in the air, because she leaves them alone. 

“I imagine you have some questions,” Miranda says quietly, after pouring them both a generous glass of dark liquid. 

And Andy must not have full control of her brain yet, because she doesn’t ask any of the burning questions about the wolf, or being a wolf. Instead, she blurts out, “So you don’t hate animals?”

Miranda stares at her. She stares so long that Andy nearly gets lost in her wide blue eyes, and something bubbles up in her heart. But then Miranda starts laughing, really laughing, from the deepest parts of her belly, and the bubbles give way to giggles. Soon, the two women are nearly crying from laughter. 

Andy can’t remember the last time she’s laughed like this. Somehow, the stress melts away, and she can’t even recall why she’d been so angry in the first place.

“No, I don’t. It’s a bit difficult to hate animals, if you are one,” Miranda says wryly when they catch their breath. 

“You’re really a wolf?” Andy asks, and congratulates herself on asking a pertinent question. 

Miranda sighs. Andy fears she won’t answer, in the seconds she takes to compose herself. 

But finally, after a few seconds of deliberation, she does. “Yes, I am. The coat I wore today is my skin. It allows me to take my animal form, and provides me a great deal of comfort when I wear it as a human.”

Andy nods. There really isn’t much else to say, not until she’s taken a few days to fully process. The look Miranda gives her says that she knows and accepts as much, and is expecting many questions at a later date. 

Andy doesn’t stay long after that. And when she goes home, she feels lighter than she has in months. Now she has the image of wolf Miranda wrestling with Patricia to keep her frustration away when her boss is being particularly demanding. It’s even better than the knowledge that Miranda is indeed an animal lover.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
